Ocala Boy Finds Dugout Canoe While Scuba Diving

Photo of Dugout Canoe | Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum in Bucharest

Associated Press Release

OCALA, Fla. (AP) -- A 7-year-old boy may have uncovered a piece of history while scuba diving with his grandfather at Owen Lake near Ocala.

Koen Ergle saw a piece of wood in about 8 feet of water a couple of weeks ago and pointed it out to his grandfather, former Marion County Sheriff Ken Ergle.

It took two weekends of digging, but eventually they pulled out a 20-foot long dugout canoe.

The Ocala Star-Banner (http://bit.ly/14pwC9v ) reports state and local historical researchers came to the site Thursday to document the canoe. It will be dried and eventually displayed at an Ocala museum.

Julia Byrd of the state Bureau of Archaeological Research took samples to carbon date the canoe. Officials believe the canoe could be several hundred years old. The process will take several months.

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